The majority of the paintball pod packs on the market today are worn around the player's waist and secured with one or more elasticized straps that are adjustable secured with hook-and-loop closure systems. On the rear of the pack and adjacent the player's back are a series of one or more, typically 3-10, slots or tunnels where pods are carried and stored during a game. Pods are generally carried with the pod's lid oriented in a downward direction and removed by pulling the pod down and out from the pack. Vertical pull (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,642) and horizontal pull (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,559,445 and US 2005/0121485) have also been disclosed.
The pod slots in a vertical pull harness come in one of two types, generally. The first is a semi-rigid tunnel that allows the pods to be removed and replaced with one hand. The second type of slot is an elastic band that is secured to the underlying waistband of the pack between or adjacent the semi-rigid tunnel slots. Once a pod is removed from these elastic bands, they are not readily replaced during play. The user would drop the empty pod and collect the empty pods once the game had concluded.
The vertical pull pod packs on the market today all use some type of hook-and-loop retention strap system to hold the individual pods in the semi-rigid slot of the pack. The hook portion of the fastener is on a lower retention strap, potentially an elasticized strap. This retention strap is attached to the waistband behind the pods and wraps downwardly, across the tube slot opening and upwardly to engage a loop fabric portion on the front of the pod slot. The retention strap thus secures the paintball pod within the slot of the pack. Typically, the upper end of the slot has an elasticized top strap or cover of some type that can be urged upwardly by stretching the retention strap across the opening of the pod tunnel and into a secured position on the outside of the tunnel with a corresponding loop portion of a hook-and-loop fastening system. The elastic of the upper end provides a downward force to provide a downward assist force when the retention strap is removed so the player can withdraw the pod downwardly and out from the tunnel. Examples of such paintball harnesses are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,962,278 and 7,100,810.
Unfortunately, the disengaged retention straps hang loosely down when not in use, and the hook-bearing portion of the strap often becomes engaged with adjacent loop portions of the pod slots, the pack assembly or even the player's shirt thereby impeding clear access to the pods and slots. To align the straps again correctly requires the use of two hands or assistance from another person.
In a strap-based pack system, sound connections between the retention strap and the pod tunnel are important. If not executed correctly, pods can slip from an unsecured slot and spill out on the ground thereby contaminating the paintballs with loose dirt and debris. Such contaminated paintballs cannot be reused without fouling the marker and represent a costly loss to the player.
Strap-based packs that rely on hook-and-loop closure systems are also prone to wear as the hook and loop portions become frayed, warn or fouled with debris over time. Such wear affects the ability of the strap to remain securely closed.
Strap-based systems also use valuable time to operate. As in most team sports, reloading time is critical in paintball games. Delays associated with pod removal and discharge into the loader reservoir can waste valuable seconds or even minutes that could lose the game for the affected player.
Given that current devices are difficult to use, require assistance or complete removal of the harness for paintball loading, and have a propensity for Velcro misalignment that reduces pod holding force, it is clear there is a need for an improved paintball pod holder.
It would be desirable to have a vertical pull pod pack harness that could hold a paintball pod securely in its slot of the pack during even extreme physical movement.
It would also be desirable to have a vertical pull paintball pod holder that could be loaded and unloaded easily and quickly using one hand.
Finally, it would be desirable to have a paintball pod holder that could withstand repeated use and still maintain its holding force on the pod within its slot in the carrying pack.